China’s Baosteel has raised its March prices for hot rolled coils

Baosteel, a subsidiary of China’s largest steelmaker China Baowu Steel Group, has raised domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) prices for March sales by 100 yuan/t ($14/t). This is reported by SteelMint.

For sales in February, prices for these products remained unchanged.

In addition, the company’s prices for heavy plates increased by 100 yuan/t compared to the previous month.

The company’s prices rose amid increased supply from competitors, such as Japan’s Tokyo steel. However, hot-rolled coil futures on the Shanghai Stock Exchange remained volatile as China’s Lunar New Year approached.

Baosteel does not disclose the actual prices of its individual products in its monthly pricing policy, only announcing the amount of the adjustment.

According to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), steel prices in China will remain in a limited range in the short term due to weakness in both supply and demand. The local steel market is in its traditional winter off-season.

Global hot-rolled coil prices have risen in major markets since the beginning of 2024. In Europe, quotes were supported by a low supply of locally produced products and the exhaustion of import quotas. In the US, a similar trend was observed, but supply still exceeded demand, which restrained price growth. In the Chinese market, prices have remained stable since mid-December last year.

As GMK Center reported earlier, China increased its rolled steel output by 5.2% y/y to 1.36 billion tons in 2023. In December, rolled steel production increased by 1.5% y/y – to 108.5 million tons.